5 Things You Need to Know About The CW's Riverdale

The CW's Riverdale is the 2017 take on the comic book classic Archie. The TV series, which premiered today on the same network that brought us hit teen series Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, and 90210, is about a group of teenagers living in a small town, trying to deal with your typical teen problems like...murder. Oh, wait. If you're having second thoughts about the series, here are a few things you might want to know before giving the pilot a go.

It's the same, but different.

If you're a fan of the comic books and already have your bias against the series, Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead, says,"it feels new because it's live-action but we're still basing these characters fundamentally and completely off the characters that already existed." So you should give it a chance, it just might surprise you!

It will deal with real teen issues.

Producer Greg Berlanti is the same showrunner behind teen series classics Everwood and Dawson's Creek to the small screen. It was the first network TV series to air a gay kiss on primetime TV. Berlanti hopes to bring that same authenticity to Riverdale, with a gay character, a closeted character, and a kid on medication already present in the first episode.

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You just might see other comic book characters on the show.

Because Archie Comics' chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is also a showrunner, they have an access to the library of about 4000 to 5000 characters including Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats. Something to look forward to: a performance by Josie and the Pussycats in episode six!

It takes inspiration from Mark Frost and David Lynch's Twin Peaks and Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides.

Set in a small town, the murder-mystery, the show has a very dream-like quality, which the showrunners really intended. "We kind of put our heads together and pitched a version of Archie that was a little bit more subversive, a little bit more like a teenage Twin Peaks. That's one of our favorite shows and it was kind of like a touchstone while we were making this pilot," Roberto shares. "We also said it should sort of be like The Virgin Suicides or that movie Heavenly Creatures," he adds, when asked about the dream-like feel of the pilot.

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You'll see a little bit of yourself in each of the characters.

In an interview, Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes, who play Betty and Veronica reveal that even though they feel like they're more like the character they play, they believe that each person actually is a little bit of Betty, and a little bit of Veronica in some way.

Ready to see the first ep? Here's a peek at the pilot!

Let us know in the comments below if what you liked about Riverdale! Catch new episodes of Riverdale every week on Netflix.